Kali Puja in Bengal falls on the new moon of Kartik, with Diwali: Kali's iconography, night-long worship, Dakshineswar, Kalighat, Bhoot Chaturdashi and lamps.
A Kali Puja pandal in Kolkata. Photo: Tarunsamanta, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Kali is one of the most powerful forms of the Great Goddess.
Clay diyas lit for Diwali. Photo: Alokjain19883105, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
The Bengali image of Kali, most often in the form called Dakshina Kali, is easy to recognise:
A Kali Puja pandal in Kolkata. Photo: Tarunsamanta, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Kali Puja is usually performed at night, often around the middle of the night, and in many places it continues until dawn.
Clay diyas lit for Diwali. Photo: Alokjain19883105, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Two Kolkata temples are especially associated with Kali:
A Kali Puja pandal in Kolkata. Photo: Tarunsamanta, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
The evening before Kali Puja is Bhoot Chaturdashi, the fourteenth lunar day of the dark fortnight.
Clay diyas lit for Diwali. Photo: Alokjain19883105, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
On Kali Puja night, Bengali homes are lit with clay lamps (diya or prodip) and candles, and increasingly with electric fairy lights.
Idols take shape in a workshop lane at Kumartuli, north Kolkata. Photo: Pinakpani, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Many neighbourhoods across Kolkata and Bengal hold community Kali Pujas with pandals and large idols, and some towns are known regionally for their Kali Puja celebrations.
A Kali Puja pandal in Kolkata. Photo: Tarunsamanta, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Two days after Kali Puja comes Bhai Phonta, when sisters bless their brothers, and later in the fortnight Jagaddhatri Puja.
A lit pandal at Chandannagar during Jagaddhatri Puja. Photo: Sourabh.biswas003, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Kali Puja in Bengal falls on the new moon of Kartik, with Diwali: Kali's iconography, night-long worship, Dakshineswar, Kalighat, Bhoot Chaturdashi and lamps.
Kali Puja and Diwali → Next story: Kojagari Lakshmi Puja: the full-moon night of Lakshmi All photo storiesMusic: Tomay hriday majhe rakhbo chere debo na - Baul Song Performance - Tarun Khyapa and Ananda Khyapa with Group - Saturday Haat - Sonajhuri - Birbhum 2014-06-28 5315, Gangulybiswarup, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.